Yao Ming must be a happy man leaving Tianjin for Beijing en route to his return to USA.

Despite some very dubious home cooking in Tianjin, felling behind by 7 points with less than 2 minutes in regulation, Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks came back from behind, forced an overtime by John Lucas III hitting a clutch 3-pointer 5 seconds before end of 4Q (98 ~ 98 ), and then ran out beating Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions 113 vs 105 in over time.

Garret Siler almost became the sinner of this game by picking up 3 fouls in 1Q, but he redeemed himself in scoring crucial baskets (a total of 6 points) in over time from crispy assists from Liu Wei. He scored a double-double: 19 points (9/14 FG% 1/3 FT%)/16 rebounds/1 assist/1 block shot.

Zaid Abbas continued to play great, also scored a double-double: 13 points (4/10 FG% 5/5 FT%)/14 rebounds/4 assists but picked up his 6th foul towards the end of regulation.

John Lucas III was constantly double-teamed, but kept bricking and was held scoreless in 1H, but his rhythm and shooting touch returned in 2H, and he was clutch in scoring the game-tying 3-pointer from a timely pass from Liu Wei 5 seconds before regulation to force over time. He scored 16 points (6/22 FG% 2/11 3-pointer% 2/2 FT%)/5 rebounds/6 assists.

Liu Wei still demonstrated he is the leader of the Shanghai Sharks. He kept penetrating, and passing crispy assists to team mates for crucial baskets, and he scored 21 points (6/17 FG% 3/7 3-pointer% 6/8 FT%)/3 rebounds/6 assists.

The young lads of Shanghai Sharks: Li Gen, Cai Liang and Wang Ligang also played tough defense and contributed to the win. Cai Liang only scored 7 points, but was the one that caused the foul out of Herve Lamizana during regulation, and he scored a priceless 3-point play (a layup + And 1) in overtime.Wang Ligang scored 8 points, but his 3-pointer 18 seconds before regulation helped his team to be only 2 points behind Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions. Li Gen contributed 10 points.

On Tianjin side, overall they played very well. But the turning point was their dominant Herve Lamizana got fouled out in the last 2 minutes of regulation. And he was sorely missed for his scoring and defense during the over time. He scored 31 points (9/25 FG% 3/6 3-pointer% 10/12 FT%)/11 rebounds/4 assists/5 block shots.

Rony Fahed scored 15 points (4/13 FG% 3/11 3-pointer% 4/6 FT%)/4 rebounds/4 assists, but he missed the chance of putting the game beyond the reach of Shanghai Sharks by only making 1 of 2 of his free throws seconds before John Lucas III hit the game-tying 3-pointer.

Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks sturck up a winning streak of 3 by beating the Shaanxi team 111 vs 83 on their home court Yuanshen Stadium in Pudong tonight.

Even though Yao Ming was not there to cheer and rave support for his team (as he had left Beijing to return to USA today), the stadium was close to 60% full with 3,000 plus spectators, and they were all happy as the Sharks won and scored over 100 points, which means they all can enjoy a free pizza afterwards.

The game was basically over after 3Q, with Shanghai Sharks leading over 30 points; and Head Coach Bob Donewald Jr. sent on their reserve players after 3 to 4 minutes of 4Q action.

On Shaanxi side, they had a setback as their top scorer Tim Pickett (a 2nd rounder of New Orleans Hornet in the 2004 NBA Draft) got injured very soon after being sent on to court in 1Q (All zeros in his stats), and only relied on the 2nd expat, Corsley Edwards (a 2nd rounder of Sacramento Kings in the 2002 NBA Draft) who scored 27 points (8/24 FG% 0/1 3-pointer% 11/13 FT%)/11 rebounds/2 assists/3 block shots.

So 3W 2L for Shanghai Sharks after the 5th Round.....

And for Head Coach Bob Donewald Jr., he was a happy man;he led the team to a winning streak of 3 after 2 narrow heartbreaking losses, and under Team Yao's arrangement, his father Bob Donewald Senior, a renowned NCAA basketball coach (used to be head coach for Illinois State University and Western Michigan University), came to visit and spend Christmas with him in Shanghai.

So it seemed the Shanghai fans are now returning to the stadium to watch the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks play.

Maybe it is New Year holidays; maybe the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks are now playing a completely different brand of basketball than previous years; maybe it is the lure of the pizza.

5500 fans came, filled up the Yuanshen Stadium in Pudong, and they all went away happy with their free pizza, as the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks handed last year's #2 Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers their first defeat of the season... 110 vs 93.

The scoreline was a little bit flattering/deceiving as far as Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers was concerned; the game was basically over by end of 3Q, when the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks were leading by 83 ~ 57.

It must be a team record for at least the past 7 years that Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks had a winning streak of 5 !!!

They handed Liaoning Panpan Hunters their first defeat on their home court for the season in Shenyang tonight. 106 ~ 95.

It was a closely contested game. Liaoning led 25 ~ 24 in 1Q, but Shanghai Sharks took a 5-point lead by half time (46 ~ 41).

Liaoning Panpan Hunters took back the lead in mid 3Q, but Wang Yong hit 2 3-pointers towards the end of 3Q, and Shanghai Sharks entered 4Q leading 75 ~ 67.

Liaoning Panpan Hunters managed to reduce the deficit to only 1 point in early 4Q, but Shanghai Sharks stepped up on their defense, and relied on their exterior sharp shooting with John Lucas III, Liu Wei, Li Gen and Wang Ligang hitting consecutive 3-pointers to run out as eventual winner.